September Birthstone: Sapphire

Our friends born during September enjoy sapphire as their birthstone! It’s also the gemstone of the 5th and 45th anniversaries. Sapphires have been associated with wisdom, royalty, faithfulness and romance. In ancient times, kings and queens adorned themselves with the gem to protect themselves from envy and harm. In later times, clergy members wore sapphires to symbolize Heaven. More recently, sapphires have received more attention as Kate Middleton received Princess Diana’s 12-carat sapphire engagement ring from Prince William.

While the deep, pure blue of sapphires is most commonly recognized, sapphires can actually come in violet, green, yellow, orange, pink and purple, known as “fancy sapphires.” Sapphires are made of the mineral corundum, as are rubies. Red is the only color that earns the name ruby, as the others are recognized as sapphires.

Sapphires are one of the hardest gems (a 9 out of 10 on the Mohs scale), bested only by diamonds, contributing to one of the reasons sapphires are the second most popular engagement stone.

In addition to the Royal sapphire, famous sapphires include the 423-carat Logan Sapphire in the National Museum of Natural History, and The Star of Adam is the largest blue star sapphire, weighing 1404.49 carats.

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